Tightener apparatus for removable cover of chair back or chair seat and the like



Oct. 10, 1961 J. H WILSON TIGHTENER APPARATUS FOR REMOVABLE COVER OF' CHAIR BACK OR CHAIR SEAT AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 27, 1957 INVENTOR JAMES HARP/801V IV/L-S'O/V ATTORNEYS Oct. 10, 1961 J. H. WILSON 3,003,816

TIGHTENER APPARATUS FOR REMOVABLE COVER OF CHAIR BACK OR CHAIR SEAT AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 27, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JAMES AMER/301V il /Z80 BY fl y ATTORNEYS United Statesv Patent 3,003,816 TIGHTENER APPARATUS FOR REMOVABLE COVER OF CHAIR BACK 0R CHAIR SEAT AND THE LIKE James Harrison Wilson, Sturgis, Mich, assignor to Sturgis Posture Chair Co. Filed Sept. 27, 1957, Ser. No. 686,762 3 Claims. (Cl. 297-219) The invention is directed to tightening means for a removable fabric cover of a chair back or a chair seat.

It is an object of my invention to provide a tightener apparatus which may be applied to a removable cover of a chair back or seat to tighten same and to untighten same for removal of the cover for cleaning and replacement.

Another object of my invention is to provide a tightener apparatus which may be manipulated by the hands or fingers of the operator without any special or other tools to tighten the cover of a seat and which may be left afiixed to the cover and again used to remove the cover and replace same after the cover has been cleaned or replaced by another cover.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an easily manufactured and simple apparatus that may be aflixed to a chair cover to tighten same on the chair por- 7 tion such as back or seat which may be hid from view when tightening has been completed and yet easily placed in operation for removal and replacement of the cover.

Yet a still further object of my invention is to provide tightener aparatus wherein the cover to be applied has a tubular hem portion to receive a flexible wire with said wire ends adapted to receive an elongated rigid member which is first used and applied to take up the slack in the wire and shorten the length of wire in the tubular hem portion of the seat cover and then utilize the elongated rigid member to apply mechanical advantage by being twisted end for end by the fingers of the operator to tighten the wires by twisting them together and further shortening the length of wire within the tubular portion of the skirt.

Several further objects and the entire scope of applicability of my invention will become apparent from the disclosure and detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples are given by way of illustration only, and, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are not given by way of limitation, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of my invention, reference may be had to the following detailed desoription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view looking at the rear of a chair back detached from the chair and showing a removable cover secured thereto using the tightener apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed showing in perspective of a step of using the tightening apparatus as the tightener body is being twisted;

FIG. 3 shows a further step in using the tightener apparatus after twisting it 360 from the position shown in FIG. 2, and just before it has been twisted another 360 and is ready to be tucked in under the skirt of the cover;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 after the showing in 'step 4 has been completed and after the rigid elongated member or bar and ends of the flexible wire have been tucked in under the skirt of the flexible cover;

FIG. 6 is a drawing on an enlarged scale showing a section through the apparatus of FIG. 4 410mg line 6-6;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of a modified form of the rigid elongated tightener bar;

FIG. 8 shows a further modification of the rigid tightener elongated tightener bar;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing a still further modification of the rigid tightener member;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating a still further modification of the rigid elongated bar member; and

' FIG. 11 is a still further modification of the rigid elongated tightener member.

Throughout the description like reference numerals refer to similar parts.

With the advance of ofiice furniture and equipment such as secretarial chairs, there has been devised removable slipcovers for backs and seats having foam rubber cushion material. These slipcovers are made and installed at the factory and are tight and smooth when installed, but it is difficult to remove same for cleaning and to replace same with the tightness and smoothness of the original installation.

To overcome this difliculty, this invention is directed to providing tightening apparatus which may be permanently installed with the cover and utilized to take up the slack in the cover and hold same tight and yet be available for removal of the cover for replacement and retightening when replaced on the chair back or seat.

In FIG. 1 I have shown a typical chair back 10 removed from the support at the back of the chair and turned upside down. The seat back 10 has a fastener or attaching element 11 attached to its back face 10 at about the center thereof. A slipcover of fabric material generally indicated at 13 has a front face which lies con- .tiguous to the front face of the seat or back 10, a skirt portion 13a which extends over the edge of the back or seat and an overlying back portion 13b which is turned over onto itself along the periphery to form the tubular peripheral portion, see FIG. 2, at 14. The skirt portions 13a and 13b have ends and 13d which overlay or abut when in installed position as shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 2 the broken lines show the stitching such as 15.

This tubular portion 14 is what is generally known as the tubular draw string receiving portion of the flexible cover. The back face or back of the seat 13, as indicated at 12, is usually a metal plate that is cut and bent to proper shape and has attached thereto, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the normal foam rubber backing as indicated at 16. The edge of the back 12 of metal is rolled over to form a rolled edge as at 12a in FIGS. 1 and *2.

The problem is to draw up tightly the skirt portions 13a and 13b and secure them in a position such as shown in FIG. 5 and to hide any tightening apparatus, yet make it available for removal of the seat cover for replacement. This will provide a means for cleaning the seat cover or replacing it with another seat cover. To accomplish this, there is provideda tightener comprising a flexible wire member 17 which is fed through the tubular portion 14 of the cover 13 and has outwardly extending end portions 17a and 17b respectively adjacent the tubular end portions 14a and 14b. The wire end portions 17a and 17b are sufficiently long as to provide hand grasping by the operator so that they may be pulled hand tight when first slack is taken out of the cover. In cooperation with the flexible tightening wire 17, there is provided a rigid elongated bar or member 18 which is relatively narrow and is approximately two inches in length so as to be easily grasped by the fingers of a person and used as a lever. FIGS. l-6 is here shown as being made of metal stock and it is about one-quarter of an inch wide and about a sixteenth of an inch thick. Other materials and sizes within reason may be utilized. The member 18 is pro- This narrow elongated member 18 as. shown in' vided with a pair of spaced apart apertures 19a and 19b at one end and 20a and 20b at the opposite end. The apertures lie adjacent one end along the longitudinal center line such as shown by the section line 6-6 of FIG. 4 and are of a diameter to freely accommodate the flexible wire 17. The apertures at each end are spaced in adjacent the end and are on the longitudinal axis of the member 18 and are spaced apart about a quarter of an inch. The nearest or inner apertures 19b and 20b receive the adjacent ends of the wire 17 which are fed upwardly therethrough and then the wire is passed downwardly through the apertures 19a and 20a respectively. The member 18 is moved down towards the ends 14a and 14b of the tubular portion of the slipcover and the slack is taken out to shorten the length of flexible wire 17 within the tubular portion 14 thereof. After this is accomplished, the ends of the flexible wire passing downwardly through the respective apertures 19a and 20a secure the elongated narrow member 18 in place as shown in FIG. 1 to hold the slack in wire 17 and skirt portions 13a and 13b which has been taken up easily by the operator. The elongated member 18 is now ready to be used as a lever between the fingers of the hand of the operator and twisted to take up further slack as shown in the first movement in FIG. 2 where it is twisted clockwise in the direction of the arrows there shown.

In FIG. 3 the member 18 has been turned 360 or end for end and one twist of the wire portion 17a has been placed over portion 17b adjacent the openings of the tubular portion as indicated at 14a and 14b.

Referring to FIG. 4, the member 18 has been twisted one complete additional turn and as shown in FIG. 6 the twisted portion of the wires 17 lie between the abutting end portions 14a and 14b of the tubular portion of the cover. The wire portions adjacent the member 18 between the apertures lie contiguous thereto, as shown at 17c and 17d.

In FIG. there is shown in broken line the position of the flexible wire 17 and the cooperating elongated narrow rigid member 18 tucked under the skirt portion 13b to hide them from view and to make them readily available for removal from their tucked position so as to carry out the reversal of the operation to remove the twists and slack in the cover and thus loosen it and to permit removal of the elongated narrow rigid member 18 and thence the cover from the seat back 10.

In FIG. 7 the elongated rigid narrow member is shown as a modified form at 21 with elongated edges 21a and 21b opposite each other and parallel to the bars longitudinal axis (not shown) extending from end to end between the side edges 21a and 211). As securing means for the wire 17, there is provided a pair of slots at each end designated 22a and 22b at one end and 23a and 23b at the other end. These slots extend generally transversely to the longitudinal axis through the elongated member 21 and to a position where they terminate adjacent the longitudinal axis at the center through the longitudinal direction of the member 21. These slots 23a and 23b adjacent one end are spaced about a quarter of an inch apart as are the apertures adjacent each end in the member 18. These slots 23a and 23b extend in opposite directions as do the slots 22a and 22b. The flexible wire portions there adjacent at 17a and 17b as they extend out of the ends of the tubular portions 14a and 14b are threaded upwardly through the slots 22a and 23a and thence over the top and down through the slots 22b and 23b and then they are passed around the adjacent end portion of the member 21 as indicated at 17c and 17d respectively for the ends of the flexible wire to secure same. The same steps are followed as explained above for member 18 to tighten the skirt and to store the member 21. The first step is of course the taking up of the slack wherein the member 21 holds the slack taken and then the member 21 is used as a lever and twisted end for 4 end to shorten the length of flexible wire 17 within the tubular portion 14 of the skirt.

A second modification is shown in FIG. 8 in the elongated narrow rigid member 24. It is formed with stuck up lugs at each end which are designated 25a and 25b at one end and 26a and 26b at the opposite end. These lugs extend in opposite directions to each other at the ends and in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the member and are offset from the elongated member 24 so as to leave apertures therebelow where they are stuck up out of the member 24. The respective apertures are indicated for lug 25a as 25a-1 and for 25b the aperture 25124. The aperture for lug 25a is indicated at 26a-1 while the aperture for lug 26b is 26b1. The adjacent wire portions at 17a and 17b are threaded up through these apertures respectively 26a-1 and 2511-1, thence around the lugs 25a and 25b for the end portion 17b and then the end portion 17a is threaded up through the apertures 26a1 around the lugs 26a and 26b to secure same. The same steps of first using the member 24 as a take up slack holder for the wire 17 which has been pulled hand tight is utilized as before. Thence, the member 24 is used as a lever by being twisted end for end between the fingers of the operator to easily twist the end portions 17a and 17b upon each other to form a tie. Thence, the assembly of ends of the flexible wire and the elongated member 24- are tucked under the skirt and stored. They equally as well may be removed and untwisted to remove the cover.

In FIG. 9 there is shown a third modification of narrow elongated rigid member at 27. This is similar to the member 21 shown in FIG. 7 but is provided with a single transversely extending slot 28 at one end and 29 at the other which extend generally transversely to the elongated axis (not shown) along the middle of the member 27 to a position adjacent that axis. As in FIG. 7, the ends 17a and 17b of wire 17 are threaded respectively up through the slots 28 and 29 and thence secured by turns taken around the adjacent end portions of the member 27 after the slack has been taken out of the cover. The member 27 is then twisted by the fingers of the operator to tighten the skirt and smooth it out as described before. The member 27 and the adjacent ends of the flexible member 17 are tucked in under the skirt as before.

A fourth modification of the rigid elongated member is shown in FIG. 10 at 30. This is somewhat similar to the member 18 except that only a single aperture extends upwardly through the member 30 and lies along the longitudinal axis thereof which passes through the middle and the apertures are indicated at 31 and 32 and they extend up through the member 30 in a position perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the middle of the members. The flexible wire member 17 is lead up through these apertures 31 and 32 respectively at the ends and twisted together as at '17t. This takes place after the member 30 has been moved on the wire end portions 17a and 17b tightly against the tubular ends 14a and 14b to take up the slack in the skirt portions 13a and 13b. Following this the member 30 is twisted end for end and the wires 17a and 17b are twisted upon each other as before. The member 30 with the end portions are tucked in under the skirt portion 13b of the cover.

Reference to FIG. 11 shows the fifth modification comprising an elongated tube 33 of about two inches in length as is the approximate length of the other rigid elongated members. This tube 33 has an inside diameter sufficient to freely accommodate the ends of the wire 17 as they are passed therethrough in opposite directions. The wires are shown at their respective portions adjacent the tubular flexible member openings 14a and 1% respectively at 17a and 17b for the flexible wire member 17 after the ends of the flexible wire 17 have been passed thmllgh the tubular member 17 in opposite directions and then they are brought back over the tubular member 13 as indicated at 17b-1 and 17a-1 and twisted together at 17s. As in the previous steps the member 33 is moved down adjacent the ends 14:: and 14b of the tubular portion of the flexible cover and slack is taken out of the skirt portion thereof, then the wire portions are twisted at 17s as the member 33 serves as a lever to be twisted end for end between the fingers of the hand of the operator so as to fully tighten and take the slack out of the cover and thus make it fit smoothly on its seat or back. The rigid member 33 is likewise tucked in under the skirt along with the wire end portions tucked therewith under the skirt. To remove the skirt for cleaning or replacement the tucked in rigid member 33 and the ends of the Wire 17 are removed from their stored position. The twist in the wire portions 17a and 17b is removed and then the twist '17s is removed so as to take off the rigid tubular member 33 from the flexible wire ends and thereafter the wire ends 17a and 17b are loose in the tubular portion 1.4 and the seat cover may be easily removed.

There is provided in this novel tightener a flexible wire and an elongated rigid member means for holding the flexible wire tight by moving it adjacent the openings of the tubular member in the flexible covering. Thence, the ends are held fast or secured adjacent the ends of the elongated rigid member in each of the cases and the elongated rigid member is easily twisted end for end by the fingers of the operator so as to secure together the ends of the flexible wire and hold in place the removable fabric seat cover or back cover as the case may be. In each of these cases the skirt extends over the back face of the back member or seat and thence there is provided a skirt within which or under which the securing ends and the elongated member may be stored. This is all easily manufactured and easily applied so as to provide a factory tight cover at all times without any expensive tools or expensive servicing. This provides for great flexibility in this type of chair utilizing a removable cover. By this simple expedient, greater flexibility of use of this type of furniture with removable covers is afforded. The flexible wire may be used over and over again and the simple tightener elongoated rigid member is easily applied and it likewise may be used over and over.

I claim as my invention:

1. A removable cover assembly for a chair back or the like, comprising a fabric cover and a closed loop for fastening and unfastening said cover without breaking the continuity of said loop, said back having front and rear sides and a surrounding edge, said cover having a face portion adapted to cover said front side, a surrounding skirt portion adapted to extend over said edge and overlie a portion of said rear side adjacent said edge, and a drawwire-receiving tubular portion along the periphery of said skirt portion, said skirt portion having a transverse opening in its periphery, said tubular portion having opposed open ends at said transverse opening, said closed loop comprising a length of freely flexible draw-wire disposed in said tubular portion with its respective end portions extending from said opposed open ends, and a rigid elongate narrow wire tightener with means proximate each of its respective ends frictionally gripping the respective end portions of said wire, each said means comprising a pair of spaced apertures lying approximately on the longitudinal axis of said tightener, said apertures each being of a size to secure said draw-wire frictionally when the respective end of the latter is passed upwardly through one and then dovmwardly through the other of said apertures and drawn tightly against said wire tightener between said pair of spaced apertures, whereby said cover may be placed on said back, said loop may be shortened tightener, and said tightener may then be tucked between.

said skirt portion and said back to be frictionally held against untwisting, thereby fastening said cover on said back, and said steps may be reversed to remove said cover without breaking the continuity of said loop.

2. In combination with a chair back or the like, said back having front and rear sides and a surrounding edge, a removable fabric cover covering the front side and surrounding edge of said back, and fastening means tightly and removably holding said cover on said back, said cover having a face portion covering said front side and a surrounding skirt portion extending over said surrounding edge, said skirt portion having a draw-wire-receiving tubular portion overlying the rear side of said back, said skirt portion having a transverse opening in its periphery, said tubular portion having opposed open ends at said transverse opening, said means holding said cover on said back comprising a length of freely flexible draw-wire disposed in said tubular portion with its end portions extending respectively from said opposed open ends and means connecting said end portions, said last-mentioned means comprising a rigid elongate narrow wire tightener, said tightener having spaced friction means, one proximate each of its ends, said friction means adjustably holding the respective end portions of said flexible draw-wire, opposed portions of said wire between said tightener and the respective open ends of said tubular portion being twisted together between said spaced fiiction means to tighten said closed loop and draw said cover tightly onto said back, said tightener being disposed between said skirt portion and said back and being frictionally retained by said skirt portion to prevent untwisting said opposed portions of said flexible wire, whereby in placing said cover on said back the slack in said flexible draw-wire may be taken up in said friction means to draw said cover into position on said back, and said cover may then be tightened by twisting said member end for end to twist opposed portions of said flexible draw-wire together.

3. The combination defined by claim 2, said spaced friction means comprising, proximate each end of said tightener, a pair of spaced apertures lying approximately on the longitudinal axis of said tightener, said apertures each being of a size to secure said draw-wire frictionally when the respective end of the latter is passed upwardly through one and then downwardly through the other of said apertures and drawn tightly against said wire tightener between said pair of spaced apertures.

Germany May 13, 1931 

